A bill to start the process of recognizing native Hawaiian sovereignty has been blocked in the Senate, according to Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka.

In a meeting with reporters in his Washington office today, Akaka said he has been told by Republican Senate leaders that the bill will not move this week.

In reaction, Hawaii's senior Sen. Daniel Inouye asked the Senate Democratic leaders to prepare a "motion of cloture," which could force the entire Senate to vote on the bill either next week or when the Senate returns from its August recess....

Akaka said he had been told that there were six GOP senators objecting for reasons ranging from, "it would not be good for Hawaiians," to concerns over a Hawaiian nation allowing gambling in Hawaii.

This despite the fact that the bill as written contains language that explicitly forbids gambling! Morans.

"It would not be good for Hawaiians". Naturally the repukes know best what's good for Hawaiians. Just like they do with Iraqis.

Of note here is that several repukes are defying the cat killer by placing holds on the bill after he had promised Akaka the upordownvote -- or are they? I mean, it's not likely that someone as honorable and aboveboard as Frist had his fingers crossed behind his back when he made the promise, but it could happen, right?

is against this bill. thinks it's ok that native populations have been overrun over the centuries. of course i countered w/ a little hawaiian history, but it's galling to think that people born in HI could be so co-opted.

is Hawai'ian History a required subject in schools there? If not, it should be!

gave us some info on this bill and said .."Native Hawaiians do not like it"..it would be good for the politicians to claim them as Native Americans but not for the Hawaiians.

I can't remember everything and don't have a link. But the DUer used to live there and knew what he was talking about.

That's why it's incredible that this is being blocked by repukes. They probably don't understand that the Hawaiians don't like and think their blocking is just being their stingy miserly mean selves for the people.

Resolution on Kanaka Maoli Self-Determination and Reinscription of Ka Pae'Aina (Hawai'i) on the U.N. list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Whereas, since time immemorial, the Kanaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian) people have lived in Ka Pae'Aina (Hawaiian Archipelago) in harmonious self-sufficiency with their sacred environment of Ka Moanaui (Pacific Ocean) and with their distinct language and culture;

Whereas, in 1810 a central monarchical Kanaka Maoli government (Hawaiian Kingdom) was established to protect the Kanaka Maoli and their lands as an independent sovereign nation, and to deal with the world community of other nations, which subsequently officially recognized the Kanaka Maoli nation through treaties and diplomatic representatives.

Whereas, on January 16, 1893, United States of America (U.S.) domination, subjugation and exploitation of the Kanaka Maoli people and their lands, which had progressed since 1790, culminated in the U.S. armed invasion of Ka Pae'Aina in support of a coup led by a small group of U.S. businessmen against the Kanaka Maoli government in August 12, 1898, the U.S. forced annexation of Ka Pae'Aina against the expressed opposition of the Kanaka Maoli people in violation of Kanaka Maoli law, U.S. law and international law.

Whereas, on February 9, 1946, as a U.S. colonial possession was placed on the United Nations (U.N.) List of Non-Self-Governing Territories eligible for decolonization; however, the U.S. thereafter failed to comply with its sacred trust obligations, under the U.N. Charter and U.N. resolutions, delineating the rights of the Kanaka Maoli people to self-determination.

The old ways were never completely wiped out; they just went underground. A notable example is hula (yes, the proto-fundie missionaries banned hula!); it was passed down largely from mother to daughter, which explains why wahine hula is so prominent today.

There does seem to be a bit of a resurgence in Hawaiian beliefs. I know a Hawaiian woman at work whose brother follows traditional beliefs; don't you know, she's a fundie, and she said "He needs to believe in Jesus Christ". Ouch. Also there is not as much of a contradiction as you might think between the two; many ordained Christian ministers who are Hawaiian will perform old-style Hawaiian blessing ceremonies for things like groundbreaking of construction sites.

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion
board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules
page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the
opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent
the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.